Year: 1953

Categories
Television

The Spider’s Web

  • May 22, 1953

Tales Of TomorrowThe 83rd episode of the science fiction anthology series Tales Of Tomorrow airs on ABC. Much of the second season is missing, including this episode.

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Categories
Television

The Quatermass Experiment: Contact Has Been Established

  • July 18, 1953

The Quatermass ExperimentThe BBC airs the first episode of Nigel Kneale’s trend-setting science fiction series The Quatermass Experiment, starring Reginald Tate as Prof. Bernard Quatermass. Broadcast as a live play with minimal footage from other sources played back during air, this is also one of the earliest BBC drama productions archived on film, and one of the final drama productions to use the BBC’s vintage 1930s Alexandra Palace facilities.

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Categories
Television

The Quatermess Experiment: Persons Reported Missing

  • July 25, 1953

The Quatermass ExperimentThe BBC airs the second episode of Nigel Kneale’s trend-setting science fiction series The Quatermass Experiment, starring Reginald Tate as Prof. Bernard Quatermass. Broadcast as a live play with minimal footage from other sources played back during air, this is one of the earliest BBC drama productions archived on film, though BBC technicians opt not to preserve any further episodes of this series.

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Categories
Franchises Superman Television

Adventures Of Superman: The Unknown People Part II

  • August 10, 1953

The Adventures Of SupermanThe 26th episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, and Jack Larson. This two-parter was created by editing the 1951 film Superman And The Mole-Men. This marks Phyllis Coates’ final appearance in the role of Lois Lane, and concludes the first season.

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Categories
Atomic Energy Science & Technology

RDS-6s

  • August 12, 1953

RDS-6sThe Soviet Union detonates its first hydrogen bomb, code named RDS-6s, in its first thermonuclear weapons demonstration. The bomb is estimated to have a yield of 400 kilotons, thanks to a layered design devised by nuclear physicist (and later political exile) Andrei Sakharov, though Sakharov’s design is incapable of being scaled up, ending its use in later Soviet nuclear weapon designs.

Categories
Movies

The War Of The Worlds

  • August 26, 1953

The War Of The WorldsParamount Pictures releases the George Pal-produced movie adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War Of The Worlds in American theaters, starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, and Les Tremayne. Featuring groundbreaking special effects photography and painted space scenes by Chesley Bonestell, the movie is an instant hit, and will later inspire a television revival based on elements of this film.

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